University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Top Questions

Knowing what I know now, I would tell myself to enjoy being that age while it lasts. Now that I am a college graduate, working in my field, and moving on to graduate school, I sometimes wish I could go back to being eighteen years old. There is just enough responsibility that you feel like an adult, but not so much that it is overwhelming. I now have to balance my career, personal life, finances, and relationships by myself.

Don’t believe the intense love you feel at 18 is the love of your life. You look at your parents and see an amazing marriage filled with love. The parts you didn’t see? Years of struggling to find themselves and years of struggling to find themselves through each other. There were many sleepless nights worrying about how to pay rent or fix the car brakes. When little blessing came along more worries too. Where they doing the right thing for that cough, were they instilling the right values? You see a perfect union in your parents but you don’t remember the hard times because as parents it was their job to protect you. Mr. Wonderful at 18 will grow into and become the kind of husband you’ve seen in your dad if given time to grow and mature. Even more significant- give yourself time to grow, mature, and become an educated person. If he really isn’t Mr. Wonderful then you have given yourself the greatest. You’ve given yourself the knowledge and education to recognize he isn’t the one and there are amazing things in life just waiting for you to discover them.

I would tell myself to avoid fighting in high school because it took me eleven years and three attempts before I could get into the Military. I would let the younger version of myself know that enlisting and receiving a military honorable discharge will give you a better chance of completing a two or four year degree. The Military G.I. Bill will pay you a college stipend, pay for your tuition, books and help connect you with many services that are gained through military service. I would advise myself to volunteer in the community. Volunteering in the community, and seeking memberships in any societies are beneficial in getting leadership skills, and that being a well-rounded student will give you a wider perspective of how to succeed as a leader. I would tell him that learning is crucial in getting any task done. The younger version of myself has to know that time does not stand still and that being in the real world demands skills that are gain through education. He has to know that his future co-workers, professors, students and society will have problems that need cognitive skills to solve that will demand a college education.

The best advice I would give to myself is to improve my study habbits. In college it all depends on how you study. In high school everything was simple. We were given reviews and such to help us improve our studying but in college it's really about what you read from the book and how well of notes you take in lectures. Mapping out time to study for each subject and and making the effort to review materials before you get to class each day.

College is the beginning of your career. You will need to know what direction you want to go into in life. You will need to study hard and realize that your education is valuable for your future. College can be fun and you will meet many different people. Your counselors will be of great assistance to you in picking courses that are appropriate for your major. It is a great idea to see a counselor when you first start or before you start to plan out the courses you need to take for the time you will be there. It is important to look at the professors that are teaching the class and that the time of the class is not as important as the rating of the professor. You want to have a professor who will keep it interesting and work with you. College can be stressful at times but don't give up and keep in mind it's for your future and it will be worth it. You are not alone in this; your family, friends, professors, and counselors are always there for you. Don't be afraid to ask questions or for help.

If I could go back in time and speak to my high school self I would shout to her to get herself together. An important period in your life is about to begin and it is okay to be confused and not know what to do, but calm down and take life one step at a time. There will be allot of important deadlines and many important choices you will have to make, but in the mist of all the chaos that seems to be slowly consuming your life you will find yourself and what you really want to pursue in life. You can no longer just drift by in life and still do well it is time for you to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Although it may seem like you have all the time in the world, you don’t. If you do not work hard now you will look up one day and realize the huge mistake you made by not grasping and fully embracing the path of higher education. So get focused, buckle down, and get ready for the ride, because it is a long one filled with many bumps in the road.

Make sure you look at different college options. Make sure you have more than one back up school and are confident in your choices. Also fill out as many scholarships that you can because the money will come in handy/

My advice to my senior self, if time travel was possible, is to study more and keep on trying to get a better score on the ACT. My ACT score wasn't the greatest and I couldnt get a lot of scholarship money. To get a plethora of scholarship money, good grades and a good ACT score is wanted from the people that offer the scholarship. They don't want to give the scholarship to some student who won't use the scholarship wisely. My GPA was a 3.5, so it wasn't too bad,, but my advice would only to be is to try to achieve a score of 28 or higher to get the maximum scholarship money that could be given to a student.

Hey, Ian! Yeah, you! Look, it's freshman year and you need to go and explore all of the different clubs, sports, and activities that Columbus North High has to offer you. Do not stay confined to what you currently enjoy doing and find something else that you will love to do. I participated in show choir for the first time my senior year and loved what we did and the people I met and befriended! I just wish I had done it sooner, but I guess it took me too long to come out of my shell. I beg of you, do not let yourself stay confined to the bubble you call your life. Pop the bubble and breathe fresh air with new people. Oh yeah, and work on those scholarships your senior year... College is expensive and you probably desire food, which you will not be able to afford. Cheer up, and move out soldier! You have got work to do, and that work starts now!

I definitely wish I would have applied for more scholarships in the beginning of my senior year instead of rushing to apply for as many as I could towards the end. I also wish I would have partcipated in more clubs, activities, and organizations so that I could have met more people. I also wish I would have broadened my horizons and applied for colleges out of state so that I could get new experiences and atmospheres.